Hannah and Owen didn't remember what the beach was but were excited to be going to play in the sand and jump in the waves. They were excited to spend a week with their Nana, Granddad, Uncle Jake, Cooper, and mommy and daddy of course. It didn't take them long to learn the word beach! We had a wonderful week in Duck, NC. The weather was cloudy with showers at the beginning, but then turned sunny and warm towards the middle of the week (but not unbearably hot) so it was perfect. This year Hannah and Owen napped well and slept soundly at night (I was so worried we would have a repeat of last year's sleeplessness). They had their own room a few steps away from our room. We shared a floor with Uncle Jake while Nana, Granddad, and Cooper stayed upstairs. The house we rented had a great floor plan and was a short little walk on a nature trail nestled in a grove of trees to the beach. Our day usually consisted of getting out onto the beach around 9:30am, coming in for lunch and naps around 12noon, and going back to the beach from about 3:30-5pm and then Hannah and Owen would fall into their cribs exhausted around 7pm.
A family tradition continues-we always have to stop at Morris Farm Market for our peaches and other assorted fruit that we nibble on for breakfast, lunch, beach snacks, and dinner throughout the week. This time we had a cart for produce and a cart for Hannah and Owen.
Owen loved lounging with his arms crossed on this big ottoman.
Owen played the drums on the side table.
Owen spent the majority of his inside time exploring and opening every cabinet possible.
New toys were a must due to some rainy days and Mema's vacation money!
Owen loves loves loves his trash truck!
Vroom Vroom Vroom went the bulldozer that we found in the "kids room" closet of our beach house.
Pop beads were another new toy we acquired on our beach trip.
They loved every minute of being at the beach. I was worried the first day that the beach wasn't going to be Owen's idea of a fun time as he didn't want to be put down and was content to sit in someone's lap in a beach chair. However, the clouds and wet sand the morning of day 2 was enough to spark a sudden change in his opinion about the beach as he ran around and down towards the water. The rest of the week he played in the sand, the water, and in his inflatable pool. His favorite thing to do was carry an empty bucket down to the ocean, fill it up, and bring it back up to our beach spot for the day and dump it out. Hannah loved the beach from the time we walked over the dune and she saw the expanse of water in front of her. She enjoyed jumping in the waves with mommy, but her favorite thing was her inflatable pool filled with ocean water. She would sit in her pool for an hour at a time playing with buckets and shovel. I lost count of how many times she would fill and dump the buckets in her pool. I was surprised that Chris and I actually did get to sit in our beach chairs. Both Owen and Hannah liked watching us make things out of sand and then knocking them down like they do their block towers. Owen liked playing with his beach ball and Hannah liked being pulled on daddy's boogie board. Owen loved running full speed into the water and he would often walk backwards toward the ocean just waiting in sheer excitement for the waves to come get him. You would often see him spinning circles and giggling uncontrollably while running near the water. They also both liked throwing the ball to Cooper and watching him go into the water to get it. They also collected some seashells and play with them now at home. During the week if we would ask them if they were ready to go to the beach they would respond yeah, yeah and nod their heads in excitement. We had so much fun watching them explore and play each day. We often wondered what they were thinking, but I definitely know they loved the beach and it left a lasting impression on them. We all agree that this trip as a family has been one of our best trips ever!
Day 1:
Owen's feet
Hannah brushes off the sand.
A rainy start makes for playtime in the house.
We made it out onto the beach in the late afternoon dressed in our clothes.
Owen happily carries buckets of water from the ocean up to where we were sitting.
Granddad and his beloved Cooper.
Ready for a beach walk.
Snacks on the beach are so yummy!
Days 5 & 6:
Owen cries after I told him he couldn't climb up on the sand dunes with his beach ball.
Hannah and Granddad
Uncle Jake gets some reading done in between visits from Owen with shovel fulls of pretend food and drink.
One cool dude-Owen tries to be like his Uncle Jake.
A brief rain shower moved through but it wasn't worth packing up to go back to the beach house so we hunkered down and waited for it to pass. Owen didn't care, but Hannah did not like the pelting rain and blowing wind and much preferred snuggling with mommy-I think she even briefly fell asleep.
Hannah perfected her Miss America wave this week.
Daddy is so much fun!
Hannah says bye bye beach.
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